Hundreds and thousands of people go missing every year. And, while some have been found and have returned to their loved ones, others have simply vanished without leaving any trace about their whereabouts whatsoever.
And, it’s not just the common man, even famous personalities have mysteriously disappeared from the face of the Earth and were never to be found.
1. Amelia Earhart disappeared in July 1937 while she was attempting to circumnavigate the globe.
Apart from being a pilot, Earhart was also a teacher, author, fashion designer and a magazine editor. On July 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan took off from Lae, New Guinea, on one of the last legs in their historic attempt to circumnavigate the globe, but they never made it back. The plane nor the two aboard were ever found. In January 1939, 18 months after her disappearance, a court order declared her legally dead.
2. Former president of the Teamsters Union, Jimmy Hoffa was last seen in a restaurant in suburban Detroit where he had apparently gone to meet mafia figures on July 30, 1975.
Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the Teamsters Union vanished after he went to a restaurant in suburban Detroit to apparently meet mafia figures whom he had close ties with, in hopes to win their support for his bid to return to the union’s presidency. With no leads on his disappearance, he was finally declared dead in 1982. And, his death still remains a mystery to this day.
3. Glenn Miller, one of the most successful big-band leaders, went missing over the English Channel in 1944.
Glenn Miller made his mark with his best-selling recordings “Moonlight Serenade,” “In the Mood” and “A String of Pearls.” However in 1942, he separated from his band to start the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. In December 1944, Miller was to visit Paris to play for the newly liberated troops at a Christmas concert but, while he was on his way his aircraft mysteriously disappeared over the English Channel and he was never seen again.
4. Hale Boggs, a Democrat and the only dissenting member of the Warren Commission, was on his way to attend a campaign fundraiser in Begich when his flight vanished in Alaska on 16th October 1972.
Senator Hale Boggs was a fiery American Democratic politician who was also the member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana. He became the youngest member of Congress at the age of 26 in 1940. He also served as the House Majority Leader and was a member of the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. And, he gained popularity for being the only member to not agree with the Commission’s report. In 1972, Boggs along with Rep. Nick Begich were on their way to Juneau from Anchorage for a campaign in their twin-engine Cessna 310 which suddenly vanished into thin air. Their disappearance sparked one of the biggest search-and-rescue operations in US history.
5. Richey Edwards was a successful guitarist and lyricist of Manic Street Preachers. He disappeared on the 1st of February 1995, the same day that he was to travel to US for a promotional tour.
Richey was an enigmatic Welsh musician in an alternative rock band called Manic Street Preachers. However, he disappeared on 1st February in 1995, the same day that he was supposed to travel with a fellow band member to the US for a promotional tour. On 14th February, his abandoned car was found in a parking lot with a dead battery. Over the years, various sightings have been reported but, no concrete evidence has been discovered. Though, some believe that he staged his disappearance but, it’s is mere speculation. He was listed as officially missing until 2008 when he was presumed dead.
ADVERTISEMENT
6. Sean Flynn was a highly acclaimed war photojournalist and the son of Hollywood actor Errol Flynn. He disappeared in 1970 in Cambodia while covering the Vietnam War.
Flynn was the only son of Hollywood superstar Errol Flynn. For a brief moment, he did try his hand in acting but, he was passionate about photojournalism. He gave up on acting and traveled to war zones along with his team in search of extra-ordinary photos. In April 1970, Flynn and his colleague got a tip about a Viet Cong checkpoint on the highway so they decided to travel on their bikes to the checkpoint and check it out for themselves and that was it. No one ever saw them or even heard from them ever again. In 1984, Flynn was declared dead on the behest of his mother Lili.
7. Joseph Pichler, the child actor from the 3rd and 4th part of the Beethoven movie series, went missing in January 2006 and was never to be seen again.
Joseph Pichler moved to LA with his family when he was just 6 years old to kick start his acting career. He worked in several commercials and movies. Although, he was famously known for his role in the third and fourth installments of the Beethoven movie series. He took a break from acting in 2005 and moved back to his hometown to complete his high school and was later planning to head back to LA to pursue a career in acting. Back in his hometown he worked as a telephone technician at TeleTech. He was last heard from at 4:15 AM on January 2006, the day that he disappeared. His car was discovered four days later behind the restaurant. After searching for him for days, Pichler’s body was never found.
8. Australia’s progressive and ground-breaking Prime Minister, Harold Holt went swimming on a beach in Victoria in 1967 but he never returned to shore.
Holt was the 17th Prime Minister of Australia in 1966. He served in a few cabinet positions before becoming the PM. After serving as the PM for less than 2 years, Holt suddenly went missing. He apparently for a swim in the sea near Portsea, Victoria but, unfortunately he never returned. A massive search operation was conducted but, there no were no leads. It is believed that he was either swept into the sea or that he was killed by a shark attack but nothing can be said for sure. In fact, a slang expression was coined after his disappearance, “do a Harry Holt”, which meant to bolt or disappear abruptly.
9. Daniel Lind Lagerlof was a well-known Swedish director, screenwriter, and producer. He disappeared during filming in October 2011 and was never found again.
Lagerlof was known as one of the most versatile directors. He began his work in TV as an assistant and he directed his first film Föreställningen (The Performance) in 1990. And, he was credited with directing several blockbusters like Beck and Johan Falk, Breaking Out, Making Babies, and Miffo among others. Everything was going great for him in his career but, he suddenly disappeared without a trace on 6th October 2011. At the time of his disappearance, Lagerlof was in the process of finalizing a shoot location for his upcoming movie based on Swedish writer Camilla Lackberg’s books the Tjurpannan Nature Reserve. It is believed that he slipped on some rocks and was swept into the sea when he went to finalise the location for the shooting but, there were no witnesses to confirm this theory. In 2016, he was officially presumed dead.
ADVERTISEMENT
10. Weldon Kees, one of the most renowned and influential poets of the twentieth century, disappeared in July 1955 leaving no trace behind.
Kees was a multi-talented person. He was a poet, painter, novelist, literary critic, jazz pianist, playwright, short story writer and filmmaker. After visiting his parents on 17th July 1955, he was to come back home but, he never returned. On 19th July, his car was found with the key still in ignition. According to his friends and family, he was acting strange and was noticeably disturbed but, nothing was certain. It is believed that he may have died by suicide but his body was never found.
Now, all that is left are wild conspiracy theories and speculations.
Top picks for you
